Clontusket

Today we drove into Nenagh, Tipperary today and I have some time before the Clans and Surnames Conference begins.

It is really hard to relate all that we have experienced so far on our trip. For us the highlight has definitely been our New Inn stay. It is great to see Ireland but also to have people who welcome you into their homes and take the time out of their lives to drive you to various places describing who lives there now and hearing the stories is an invaluable part of our journey.

Places we have been –

Clontusket Abbey – close to where the McGuinness family lived when they arrived in Galway in the 1820s. (Featured image is of one of the windows from the AbbeyWoodlawn House – owned by the landowners of the New Inn are where the Melody & McGuinness family were living. Their landowner was Rev. Trench.
I received a thorough tutorial from a very helpful friend (thanks Martin) on how to do map overlays using Griffiths Valuation. This allowed me to see where John Melody & Michael Melody were living in the area of Corrabaun in the 1850s. Their farms were located side by side and John’s farm was eventually owned by Michael and then later by Michael’s son Thomas Melody.

I still have a lot to learn but another tip I received was that the Cancelation Books would cover every time the land changed hands and these books are located for viewing in Dublin. I hope to have a chance to have a look at them when we head back there.